Vehicle alarm systems have become commonplace for consumers, although their value is limited because so many false positive alarms are triggered and nothing more than the alarm sounding occurs when the alarm is triggered. A growing trend in the auto industry is integrating electronic devices within a car like a global positioning system (GPS), digital video display (DVD) players, tablets, in-vehicle entertainment systems, and the like. These features are attractive for criminals to steal. However, with alarm systems having limited success in deterring criminals from damaging a vehicle or stealing items from a vehicle, these electronic devices and vehicles in general are left largely exposed to the risk of criminal activity.
Further, when a vehicle alarm is triggered because a crime has occurred, little, if any, evidence or data is documented to help create a record of the incident for law enforcement, insurance companies, and others. While the alarm system sounds an alarm that the crime has occurred, law enforcement often take several minutes or longer to arrive at the scene to investigate the crime, if at all, which gives the criminal ample time to escape without being identified. In some environments, such as a parking garage or other property, owners sometimes place security cameras in various locations in hopes of preventing crime on their property. These systems are expensive to install and maintain, time-consuming to monitor, and inefficient at providing photos or video at the best angle for catching criminal (or simply unwanted or unauthorized) activity on their property. Because they often fail to capture useful information about an incident when it occurs, their value is also limited.